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Larry Sanders went to Chicago to get a second opinion on what has been called a deeply bruised back, and coach Jim Boylan sounded like a guy who will be starting Samuel Dalembert in Wednesday's game against the Sixers.

"There's no magic formula to it," Boylan said about dealing with injuries. "Sam will continue to be the starter and Ekpe will play behind him." This comes in a Wednesday morning piece about tonight's game, and neither the writer of the report nor the coach seem to be planning for Sanders to come back tonight. The larger issue is whether or not the injury is serious, as the second opinion has been called "precautionary," and the timing of the All Star break won't add any clarity. Owners shouldn't panic, but stay on your toes.

Dwyane Wade has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Cavs.

Wade made it clear that he wanted to sign with a contender in his age-36 season and that he also wanted to be a significant part of the rotation, so it'll be interesting to see what his role looks like in Cleveland. His arrival could result in J.R. Smith being bumped from the starting five, and Love won't see quite the same uptick in usage we initially expected after the Kyrie Irving trade. Getting to the Finals at 100 percent healthy will be a priority for the Cavs this year, so expect Wade's maintenance plan to include some sort of minutes restrictions and DNPs on back-to-back sets.

Fred Hoiberg said that Zach LaVine (left knee) probably won't be cleared for contact until mid-November.

VP of Basketball Operations, John Paxson, said on Monday that it's a "safe bet" that LaVine won't be on the floor for opening night, and it's looking like he's almost guaranteed to miss at least the first month of the 2017-18 season. Once he is cleared to return, LaVine will likely be eased back into things, so he might not be going full speed until Christmas. There also could be restrictions for LaVine on back-to-back sets, so he could be a frustrating guy to own for the first half of the season.

Dwyane Wade is "nearing a commitment to sign with Cleveland and could finalize a decision as soon as Wednesday," according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski‏.

The Cavs were the heavy favorites to land Wade once it was announced he had agreed to a buyout with the Bulls. He may very well be named the team's starting shooting guard, but the Cavs backcourt is now extremely crowded, with J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert and Wade all competing for court time. Wade averaged 29.9 minutes per game last season, but will see his playing time significantly reduced in Cleveland. As a result, Wade's fantasy value takes a hit, making him an unappealing pick before the later rounds.

Barton would likely make a lot more money if he opts for free agency in 2018 instead, so this is a bit of a surprise. Gary Harris and Wilson Chandler will start on the wings for Denver this season, but Barton should see plenty of minutes as the sixth man and is on the radar as a late-round flier after posting 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.5 triples on 44.3 percent shooting last season.

T.J. Warren has agreed to a four-year, $50 million extension with the Suns.

There was no doubt that Warren was viewed as a long-term piece for the Suns and it's a really solid contract for the 24-year-old forward. When asked what player could surprise this season, Suns GM Ryan McDonough said Warren without hesitation. He's penciled in as the starting SF and looks like a nice option towards the end of the middle rounds after he racked up career-highs with 14.4 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 blocks and 1.2 steals last season.

Magic Johnson said he expects Brandon Ingram to have a "breakout season."

He also said he expects him to be the scoring leader on this team. The Lakers have talked him up all offseason and he was thoroughly impressive in his lone Summer League outing. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said that Ingram has stuck out as the most vocal leader so far and it sounds like he will be the focal point of the offense right out of the gate. Unlike last season, Luol Deng is no longer a threat. He's an intriguing late-round flier, but fantasy owners will be hoping he improved from the line this summer after hitting just 62 percent of his free throws as a rookie.

Rodney Hood's goal for the 2017-18 season is to come home with the Most Improved Player award.

With the departure of Gordon Hayward, there's a massive hole to fill in Utah's offense, but it sounds like Hood is ready to try and fill some of that scoring void. "I've got to score. I've got to be one of the guys to put the ball in the basket," said Hood. Consistency and staying healthy have been issues for Hood in the past, but he's looking at ample opportunity in Utah this season, and it sounds like the Jazz coaching staff wants him aggressive on offense. He has a decent amount of upside, so rolling the dice on Hood towards the later rounds makes sense.

Jabari Parker (left knee) said that he can do "everything right now," and he plans to be back on the court by February.

Parker is currently recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, which is the same ACL that he ruptured back in 2014. While he may be able to get back on the court sometime after the All-Star break, he'll assuredly be eased back into things by Milwaukee with back-to-back sets being out of the question. In other words, it's unlikely he'll be able to help you that much in fantasy hoops this season, so we'd recommend avoiding him in re-draft formats.

Luke Walton said that Brook Lopez (back) may be limited at the start of training camp.

Lopez has been experiencing some back spasms over the past few days but maintains that it's "nothing serious at all," and that he's just trying to be cautious early on so it doesn't turn into a lingering issue. Lopez missed a handful of games back in 2014 due to a lower back strain, but he hasn't dealt with any back issues over the past three seasons, so we wouldn't read much into this.

Zach LaVine (left knee) will not be ready for opening night, according to VP of Basketball Operations, John Paxson.

The Bulls have not committed to an official timetable for LaVine's return, but considering that they're currently going through a rebuild, Chicago management will be in no rush to bring LaVine back to the court. LaVine maintains that he's "very far along" in his recovery from the ACL tear and that he'd like to get back to the court "as soon as possible," but Bulls' reporter Sean Highkin has speculated that LaVine might not take the court until December or January. With so much uncertainty here, it's tough to justify taking LaVine prior to the later rounds, despite his upside.

Harrison Barnes said he prepared his body to play more minutes at power forward with the expectation that he will be the starting four-man in Dallas this season.

Rick Carlisle wants the Mavs to turn up the tempo and it sounds like he'll open the year with Barnes as the Mavs starting power forward, shifting Dirk Nowitzki over to center. Barnes added that operating as Dallas' No. 1 option last year was a great experience and that he wants to become better at getting to the line in his second year with the Mavericks. Barnes doesn't do much in the way of steals or assists, but he scores efficiently and will be worthy of a mid-round pick on draft day.